Wood excited to play having done ‘boring’ rehab all this while as he looks forward to playing at “rapid” Perth Stadium.
Mark Wood puts ‘boring’ rehab behind him as he gears up for bowling return.
After a “boring” six months of rehabilitation after knee surgery, Mark Wood says he is enjoying bowling once more and is prepared to be as “fresh as I can be” for the opening Test of the Ashes in two weeks at Optus Stadium in Perth.
During England’s most recent Ashes trip in 2021–2022, Wood, the quickest bowler in England, participated in four of the five Test matches and claimed 17 wickets, including a career-best 6 for 37 in the final Test in Hobart.
However, because to Western Australia’s stringent Covid regulation, he was unable to play in Perth, which is known for having Australia’s fastest pitches. Rather, he only seen the speed and bounce available during England’s successful 2022 T20 World Cup campaign.
“It was rapid,” Wood recalled, having claimed five wickets in two wins against Australia (in a pre-tournament bilateral match) and Afghanistan. “I’m not sure my back is looking forward to it, but my bowling is definitely looking forward to it.”
A key component of England’s approach is Wood’s ability to reach speeds in the mid-to-high 90 mphs (155 kph), as they want to stop a run of three extremely one-sided Ashes visits since their previous victory in the nation in 2010–11.
Asked if England had a back-up plan, if their policy of all-out pace proves to be the wrong one, Wood joked: “Don’t try as hard and bowl 130[kph]? We’ll be giving everything we’ve got. The type of bowlers that we are, I’m not quite sure that it’s in us to not give 100%. Whether it’s good enough, I don’t know, but we’ll wait and see. Australia are obviously the favourites going into the series, but I think there’s a quiet confidence within our group that we can do well here.”
A key component of England’s approach is Wood’s ability to reach speeds in the mid-to-high 90 mphs (155 kph), as they want to stop a run of three extremely one-sided Ashes visits since their previous victory in the nation in 2010–11.
Asked if England had a back-up plan, if their policy of all-out pace proves to be the wrong one, Wood joked: “Don’t try as hard and bowl 130[kph]? We’ll be giving everything we’ve got. The type of bowlers that we are, I’m not quite sure that it’s in us to not give 100%. Whether it’s good enough, I don’t know, but we’ll wait and see. Australia are obviously the favourites going into the series, but I think there’s a quiet confidence within our group that we can do well here.”